Conservative London Assembly member Tony Arbour said: “Not only is this a hugely disappointing announcement from an environmental point of view, it will do nothing for the general public’s trust in what the Mayor has to say.

“This u-turn makes it clear the Mayor is unwilling and unable to tackle what is a serious problem for Londoners and raises questions over what other issues he will attempt to dodge in the coming months and years.”

A City Hall spokesman said: "The Mayor is committed to making London one of the world’s greenest cities, and to preserve the capital’s green spaces. Sadiq made a clear manifesto commitment to work with businesses and other public bodies to embark on a major tree-planting programme across London.

"The current strategy in the London Plan has set a target to increase tree cover by five per cent by 2025 and the Mayor is determined to expand the programme so hundreds of thousands more trees will be planted during this term."